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MS-06 Zaku II
The is a line of mobile suits first appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam and since then has been features in several other works set in the Universal Century timeline. Technology & Combat Characteristics The successor to the first fielded MS, the MS-05A Zaku I Early Type, the Zaku II improved on everything the previous model offered. It was faster, more durable, had a superior Minovsky Reactor, and could be fitted with more weapons. The Zaku II was the mainstay of the Zeon military for most of the One Year War. Even after the MS-09B Dom and MS-09R Rick Dom began to replace it on the front lines, the Zaku II still remained the most numerous mobile suit in Zeon's armed forces. As such, the Zaku II formed the backbone of the U.C. 0083 rebels of Operation Stardust and some were even seen as late as U.C. 0088 in both AEUG and Neo Zeon service during the Gryps Conflict and the First Neo Zeon War. The Zaku II was also a common aggressor unit used during training for Earth Federation Forces pilots. Armaments ;*ZMP-50D 120mm Machine Gun :A standard weapon for Zaku-type mobile suits. It is a shell firing gun that does not require energy to be used; however, its effectiveness against heavy armor is very limited. The ZMP-50D used a 100-round drum magazine, which is offset to the right. "ZMP" stands for "Zaku Machine Pistol". ;*M-120A1 120mm Machine Gun :Also referred to as a "rifle" by Zeon soldiers, Zeonic was contracted to develop this weapon. Its internal development code is "ZMC38III". It can switch between semi-automatic and automatic fire. Although useless against Luna Titanium Alloy, it can still destroy weaker armor material with multiple shots. This is the main weapon carried by the MS-06F, J, and S during the One Year War. ;*MMP-78 Machine Gun :A new model machine gun with enhanced firepower to combat Federation Forces MS. Early type and late type models exist, with differences in the location and mounting of the grip on the latter. In addition to the regular machine gun bullets fed from the drum magazine, the MMP-78 is also capable of firing anti-aircraft rounds being fed from a smaller, box-type magazine. The MMP-78 is also integrated with a grenade launcher under its barrel for additional firepower. "MMP" is an abbreviation for "Mobile Suit Machine Pistol". ;*MMP-80 90mm Machine Gun :An alternative to the MMP-78, it is an upgrade of the above weapon. It used 90mm bullets instead of 120mm type, allowing for a greater firing speed and better penetration capabilities. Fed by a 32 rounds magazine, it is also integrated with a grenade launcher under its barrel for more firepower. ;*MMP-78/WG Machine Gun :A model of the zaku machine gun where the hand grip has been tailored to fit the size of the manipulators belonging to the Dom series. The grenade launcher is also detachable. ;*H&L-SB25K/280mmA-P Zaku Bazooka :The 280mm Zaku Bazooka was another weapon that could be equipped to a Zaku type mobile suit and it fires explosive rounds. It is primarily for anti-ship combat and displays its power in hit and run attacks. It can also be used against enemy mobile suits, but it is harder to hit a constantly moving target. The bazooka could be stored on the rear waist armor, while spare ammunition clip containing 4 rounds could be stored on the side waist armor. ;*ZIM/M.T-K175C 175mm Recoilless Rifle :The main gun of the HT-01B Magella Attack main battle tank, it is remodeled as an MS artillery weapon. It was mainly used for long distance ground combat and can be loaded with high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) or armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) rounds. ;*MIP-B6 Cracker Grenade :Identical to those used by infantry, cracker grenades are explosive weapons designed to be thrown or launched by the MS and detonate after a set amount of time. The "cracker" then breaks into several smaller munitions over a wide area. A flash-type variant also exist, which it used to temporarily paralyze the sensors of enemy MS. The Zaku II can optionally equip up to four cracker grenades, that are stored on the left and right waist armor racks, with two on each side. ;*Triple Missile Pod :A pair of optional missile pods each containing three missiles, can be mounted on a weapon latch on the legs, they're used to perform mid to long-range attacks, and can be used with other weapons. ;*S-Mine :Anti-personnel explosives fired from various locations on the Zaku's body. They then explode in the air, raining down small metal shrapnels, killing approaching enemy soldiers. ;*Hand Grenade :Hand Grenades are throwing weapons used as an alternative to Cracker Grenades. These waist-mounted grenades can be thrown like regular grenades and set to detonate upon impact with the target or timed to explode after a preset time. They come in multiple variants, allowing them to perform different roles in battle. ;*Sturm Faust :A simplified, disposable rocket launcher. As the warhead is not equipped with a guidance device, it is extremely hard to use the Sturm Faust to hit a moving target accurately. However, it is still a highly destructive portable weapon. ;*Heat Hawk Type 5 :An axe-shaped close combat weapon, it uses a super-heated blade to cut through the armor of enemy MS or vehicles. The thermal energy is generated by the power output of the Zaku II's thermonuclear reactor and relayed through the MS' hands. ;*Shoulder Shield :Mounted on the right shoulder, it is a simple defense used to block most physical projectiles. ;*Spiked Shoulder Shield :A shoulder shield with a set of spikes on it to enhance its melee combat abilities. ;*Ex-T2-2 Beam Bazooka :A weapon originally developed for the MS-09R Rick Dom. The bazooka has its own internal reactor, rather than an E-cap, and is, essentially, a Musai deck gun scaled down for mobile suit use. Due to using a reactor rather than an E-cap, the bazooka is capable of a single sustained blast or several short bursts, requiring a lengthy recharge period of approximately 10 minutes before it can be used again. ;*Gatling Shield :A weapon from the MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom, it is a shield with a powerful, drum-and-belt fed, 75mm Gatling Gun attached to it. The Gatling Gun can be detached from the shield when it runs out of ammunition. ;*880mmRB-T27 Raketen Bazooka :A new heavy bazooka which features powerful rocket-propelled rounds, and improved targeting sensor with protective cover for aiming. It is fed by a 5-rounds magazine. ;*Knuckle Shield :The knuckle shield is a modified Zaku II shoulder shield carried on the arm, with the curve of the armor fitting over the mobile suit's hand. One of the modifications is the additions of three spikes placed on the plate that rests in front of the hand. These spikes make the knuckle shield an effective bashing weapon. ;*Flamethrower :A handheld incendiary device which can project a long, controllable stream of fire to incinerate targets such as mobile suits, infrastructures, infantry units and combat vehicles. History The MS-06 Zaku II series was one of the most produced and versatile mobile suits of the One Year War. Even after its performance was surpassed by its successor mobile suits, like the MS-07B Gouf, the MS-09B Dom, and the MS-14A Gelgoog, it was still widely deployed both on the front lines and behind the scenes after the war's end. During the First Neo Zeon War, the Zaku II was still used by Haman Karn's Neo Zeon forces, but it in less of a combat role and more of a support and defense role. Variants ;*MS-06MP Manipulation System Type Zaku II ;*MS-06SHAKU Zaku II Shaku Yumiko Custom See also *MS-05A Zaku I Early Type *AMX-011 Zaku III *RMS-106 Hizack *MS-06 Zaku II/Origin *MS-06 Zaku II (Thunderbolt Ver.) Gallery Cockpit.gif|MS-06 Zaku II Cockpit Heak Hawk.gif|Heat Hawk Type 5 120mm.gif|ZMP-50D 120mm Machine Gun Bazooka.gif|H&L-SB25K AP 280mm Bazooka Cracker.gif|MIP-B6 Cracker Grenade Magella_Top_Cannon.png|175mm Recoilless Rifle Rick Dom - Beam Bazooka.png|Beam Bazooka Zaku-archive-coverart.jpg|MS-06 Zaku II on the cover of "Master Archive Mobilesuit: Principality of Zeon MS-06 Zaku II" by GA Graphics Mobile_Suit_Complete_Works_3MS-06.jpg|MS-06 Zaku II on the cover of "Great Mechanic: Mobile Suit Complete Works "3": MS-06 Zaku Book" by Futabasha MOOK Zeonic Front 0079 - Cover.JPG|Zaku II as featured on Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front 0079 Zaku-morishita_8.jpg|Zaku II: illustration by Naochika Morishita Zaku-ii-calendar.jpg|Zaku II and M120A1 Machine Gun (from MS Gundam Calendar) Zaku-ii-odessa.jpg|Zaku II in Operation Odessa Zaku II Odessa day.jpg|Zaku II in Operation Odessa Zaku II SRW64.jpg|Zaku II from Super Robot Wars 64 image.jpg|SD Zaku II Gundam Combat 21.jpeg|Gundam Combat K-RRuse.jpeg|''Mobile Suit Gundam'' and Keroro Gunso collaboration: featuring Zaku II K-RR Use (Keroro) G-RRuse.jpeg|''Mobile Suit Gundam'' and Keroro Gunso collaboration: featuring Zaku II G-RR Use (Giroro) skiuregatling.png|Quint's Zaku II, armed with Gatling shield and operating Skiure mobile turret, as featured in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn: The Noble Shroud Zaku II.jpg|Zaku II as featured in Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation white-zaku.jpg|Zaku II emerges victorious in North American front line (from Zeonic Front: Indignation of Zeon animation) White-zaku2.jpg|Zaku II in North American front line (Indignation of Zeon) earlyzaku.jpg|Zaku II early model as seen on Gihren's Greed White-zaku3.jpg|Zaku II with cold climate equipment (Gihren's Greed) cimeli-ep01b.png|Wreckage of Zaku II at One Year War Museum inside Industrial 7 (from episode 1 of Gundam Unicorn OVA) Zaku II IN GBF.jpg|Zaku II as seen on Gundam Build Fighters TV series ms06_Zaku_Thunderbolt_epi5_p01.jpg|December 31, U.C. 0079: MS-06 Zaku (Royal Guard Unit) fires 120mm Zaku machine gun during the defense of Zeon space fortress A Baoa Qu (from Gundam Thunderbolt ONA) Okawara Redesign Zaku1.png|Kunio Okawara redesign as seen on Iron Works (B-Club Special) Gunpla OldZaku.jpg|Original 1/144 MS-06 Zaku II (1981): box art OldZaku-100.jpg|Original 1/100 MS-06 Zaku II (1982): box art zaku 2.png|HGUC 1/144 MS-06 Zaku II (2003): box art MSM_Zaku_II.jpg|MSM 1/48 MS-06 Zaku II (2011): box art Zaku-uc-mow.jpg|Zaku II diorama in MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM : Memories of Universal Century Action Figures RobotDamashii_ms06_p01.jpg|Robot Damashii MS-06 Zaku II (2011): package front view KadoSenshi_MS-06_Zaku_II.jpg|Kado Senshi "MS-06 Zaku II" (1999): box art. KadoSenshi_MS-06_Zaku_BlackTriStars.jpg|Kado Senshi "MS-06 Zaku II (Black Tri-Stars Colors)" (Limited edition Dengeki Hobby magazine exclusive; 2002): box art. Zaku II (Gunpla) 01.jpg|Zaku II (Mobile Suit Gundam G Frame Vol.5) Zaku II (Gunpla) 02.jpg|Zaku II (Mobile Suit Gundam G Frame Vol.5) Notes and Trivia *The original concept of the Zaku was simply a disposable underling, with its name derived from the sound of a huge man (or many soldiers) walking and the Japanese term 雑魚 (zako), meaning "inferior fish" (the term also signifying expendable grunts).アニメック(Animec) 16th issue special volume, 機動戦士ガンダム大事典 (Mobile suit Gundam Encyclopedia), 1 March 1981, Yoshiyuki Tomino Interview, そうですね、ザクなんかでも………大きい人が歩いてくると地面がザクッザクッと音をだしますね、それからとったんですよ。(笑), Yes, Zaku whatever... is when a huge man walking the ground will make Zaku, Zaku sound, and it took that (for its name) (laughter)ガンダム･エイジ (Gundam Age), 洋泉社, 敵のモビルスーツのザクは、もともとは、雑兵っていうか、雑魚(ザコ)なのね。でも、ザコじゃあんまりだ。やつら軍隊だから、軍団でザクザクやってくるでしょ。だからザクにしようって, Enemy's Mobile suit Zaku is originally (designed as) a common soldier, disposable underling (Zako). However, saying it is an underling is too extreme, they are a military force and flanks of army make the Zaku Zaku sound, thus it was named Zaku. *Although partially, the Zaku was a design model for the Russian Jaeger Cherno Alpha, in the 2013 movie Pacific Rim.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-zCQGA4fdY *Later series would often include grunt mobile suits inspired by or based on the Zaku. These mobile suits would generally be painted green, and their model numbers would be partially based on the Zaku's. Some of these include the JDG-009X Death Army, OZ-06MS Leo, RMS-006 Jenice, ZGMF-1017 GINN, ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior, MSJ-06II-A Tieren Ground Type, Hi-Mock, Jahannam and the EB-06 Graze. * In the Super Robot Wars series, the Zaku is one of the very few units that has proven an exception to the series rule that pilots cannot pilot units outside their own canons, with the Zaku II having been piloted by generic OZ troopers in SRW 64, as well as being used as a temporary playable grunt unit by original characters, though otherwise characters not connected to the Gundam canon proper cannot pilot one. References MS-06_Zaku_II_-_Entertainment_Bible_1_-_MS_Gundam_Encyclopedia.jpg|MS-06 Zaku II (cross-section) - Entertainment Bible 1 - MS Gundam Encyclopedia External links *MS-06 Zaku II on MAHQ.net ja:MS-06 ザクII